


we all just float down here

by MayWilder



Series: the gift of you [3]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, How to Parent a Superhero, I have a need for Rhodey to always just, Light Angst, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Likely, Pepper and May are best friends, be around, does it have an actual plot, fight me, so he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 20:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18858097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayWilder/pseuds/MayWilder
Summary: Being friends with Pepper makes May feel like she has a social life again. It’s fun to have someone to spend time with who is an adult. Pepper helps her process a bad day at work, makes her feel like she isn’t so crazy for her concern about Peter, and is just…there. More than anyone ever has been before. It’s like she’s found a part of herself she hasn’t had since losing Ben.A partner, she thinks as she and Pepper sit at the compound, munching on popcorn and watching trashy CW television. She's found a partner.“You know, Potts,” May says aloud. “I think I’m a little bit in love with you.”Or, May needs to adjust to the fact that she isn't a single parent anymore. Things can only go up from there.





	we all just float down here

**Author's Note:**

> My love for May Parker resulted in this. Does it have plot? Sort of. Is it mostly just fifteen pages of these people becoming a family. Absolutely.  
> \--  
> takes place in the first half of the events in "limits of my heart" but can be read on its own. this is the last story that will take place during that; the rest will be post-limits of my heart

When May Parker finds out about Peter being Spider-Man, she calls this “Happy” man and demands a sit down with Tony Stark. It only takes one threat to get the man to agree, and May finds herself sitting in a ridiculously lavish restaurant across from Iron Man himself.

“Miss. Parker,” Stark says with a tense smile. “Thank you for setting this up.”

“Look, Stark,” she snaps. “I like to think I’m a reasonable person, but I have been through a lot of shit in the past twelve years, so my patience can sometimes run thin. Peter gave me his own explanation—a spider bite from Oscorp, the Stark Internship being Spider-Man, and his rambles of an adventure with some shithead called the Vulture. You, Stark, have a five minute minimum to explain to me your involvement with my kid before he’s forbidden from ever seeing you again.”

To his credit, Stark looks pained at that. “When I found Peter, I was in a low place, desperate for help. I recruited him to help me on a mission, one where he was supposed to have a very minimal role, as a sort of bug on the wall.”

He gives her a half-smile, and May glares.

“Anyway, the mission went to shit, but he did really well. I knew he was going to keep being Spider-Man, so I let him have a special suit I designed for him. It has built in protections, a tracking device, a heart monitor, the whole shebang. I wanted to keep an eye on him while he kept stopping muggers and preventing car crashes. Well, I apparently gave him a taste for the big life, because he tried to take down an alien arms dealer on his own.”

May feels the swell of horror in her chest, but Stark rushes on.

“When he got himself into some trouble, I tried to make him back off. He didn’t listen, things escalated, so I took away his suit to try and keep him safe. He didn’t care, however, and ended up saving my ass and putting a really dangerous man in prison, all without the suit. He saved the day because he’s _Peter_ , and he’s got more brains than he knows what to do with.”

“He’s brilliant,” May agrees. “But why does he have to do this?”

“He says its his responsibility. When he first got bit, he tried to ignore his new powers and pretend he was normal. Then his uncle died in front of him. Now, he doesn’t let his powers go to waste, with or without my suit.”

Heart clenching, May blinks away tears and looks into Stark’s eyes. “So you’re saying that I shouldn’t take away his suit?”

“You can’t.” Stark leans forward, hands flat on the table and expression serious. “May, he ended up with a building on top of him, and because he didn’t have my suit, I didn’t know about it. The two times he'd been in trouble before, I had been able to save the day because I knew where he was and what he was doing. Without the suit, he was under a building before somehow getting out and hopping on the outside of a goddamn plane. You cannot take the suit away. I cannot deal with that again.”

“Jesus Christ.” May covers her face, trying to control her breathing. Her baby, her kid, attached to a plane to stop an alien arms dealer. It’s insane. “Alright, so he keeps the suit and he keeps being Spider-Man. How do I ensure his safety?”

“To a certain extent, you don’t. I have a protocol of monitoring him at all times, though. I get alerts to any weird physiological changes. I have eyes on him and friends to help.”

“You’re pretty involved. Peter said you’re mentoring him. What is that entailing?”

“Mostly just advice, saving his ass, trying to teach him what it means to be a superhero. Eventually, I’d like for him to properly trained, but…I don’t have connections with anyone who can really help me with that at the moment.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s got a strength unlike anything I’ve ever seen. If we taught him martial arts, he would be able to kill someone with a punch. Peter is too good for that. He isn’t in the business of killing people, and he never will be if I can help it.”

At this, May crosses her arms and examines the man in front of her. Despite the fact that he’s having lunch with a working-class woman from Queens, Stark exudes money. His suit looks more expensive than May’s rent, he’s wearing sunglasses inside like your everyday douche, and the steak he was eating has to cost an arm and a leg. She's still not totally clear why he's in their lives. 

“Why are you mentoring him?” she asks him then. “Is it because you made an investment? Is he a pet project?”

“No,” Stark replies. His voice is hard now, and May wonders if she's insulted him. “I care about Peter. I see a lot of myself in him, and he’s—he’s lonely, in a way. He needs someone who understands what its like to have the burden that he has. I can help him. And, you know, I really did try not to like the kid so much. He’s just…”

“Peter,” May finishes, resigned to the fact that Tony Stark is now a fixture in her life. She knows what loving Peter is like. Stark, for better or for worse, is wrapped around the kid’s finger and there is no going back for him. There never is with Peter. “Okay, here’s the deal: I want to know everything, at all times. I want weekly reports on what he’s doing. I want us to talk about everything, between suit upgrades and curfew, and be presented as being on the same page. Even if he is a little superhero, Peter needs stability. You cannot be in his life if you cannot offer stability. Is that understood?”

Stark agrees, leaning back in his seat. “I gotta say May, I’m surprised. Pete made it sound like you would lose your mind over it.”

“Oh, I did, but I told you I like to think I’m reasonable. He’s grounded for three weeks because of all the lying and sneaking out, and he got a lengthy lecture full of many words I should never say in a place as fancy as this.”

“I respect that. Does this three weeks give us time to discuss Peter’s superhero-ing hours?”

 _Oh, God_ , May cries internally. _Ben, I wish you were here._

**)-(**

In the end, May and Tony agree to a sort of schedule for Peter. He goes to school, to Decathlon practice, and then home for homework and dinner with May. He can patrol until eleven at night on weekdays, or until one in the morning on weekends. If his grades start slipping again, patrol lessens. He is not allowed to skip school to pursue a bad guy; to comfort him in this, Tony promises to take any leads Peter gives him and follow them through.

It’s a tentative system, but Peter seems pleased as the next two months roll by. He’s definitely happier when patrolling, and with Tony in his life. May can admit that its good for Peter to have a father-figure who adores him, and to show him the ropes.

“I just wish I had a support group to go to for this,” May grumbles one evening on the phone. Tony’s just finished telling her that crime in Queens is down because of Spider-Man, so patrols are becoming less exciting. “When I’m not working, its hard for me to focus on anything besides the fact that he’s out chasing bullets.”

“You know,” Tony replies. “I don’t have a support group, but I have someone you could talk to. Why don’t you come with Peter to the compound this weekend? He and I can hang out like we normally do, and you can meet Pepper. It’s also not a bad vacation spot. Secluded, protected, right on a gorgeous lake that I personally inspected for weird fungus…maybe it’ll help you relax.”

“I’m not swimming in New York waters in February, Tony.”

“Well don’t swim, but you can enjoy yourself.” She can almost hear his eyes roll behind his stupid blue-tinted sunglasses. “Seriously, I’ll make sure you have a nice time. I think you and Pepper will like each other, and she can talk to you about what its like living with a superhero.”

“Peter isn’t on the Accords. Isn’t technically a vigilante?”

“I’ve got him protected from the government, don’t worry.”

May knows Tony loves Peter, knows that he’s a priority in Tony’s eyes, yet it surprises her with how casually he says things like “I’ve got him protected from the government.” As if anything but keeping the government away isn’t worth contemplating.

“Fine, I’ll go. Maybe I can see why I have to reprogram my kid to wash dishes every Monday.”

That particular mystery is definitely solved within ten minutes of arriving at the compound.

Peter is treated like royalty. The Andriod-Man walks around trying to make everyone’s life easier, including taking Peter’s bags and coat and telling him where Tony is. Tony sees Peter, lights up, and takes him by the shoulders. “What do you want for dinner?”

“I was thinking we could do Indian this time?”

“Sounds good, I’ll order a spread.” Tony squeezes Peter’s shoulders. “Hello, Aunt May. If you would follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Peter obviously knows the way, as he stays almost a step ahead Tony, who tells May that the Starks have their own suite. It comes with a private living room, a kitchen, a dining space, five bedrooms, and four baths. Directly above them is Tony’s lab, along with Peter’s personal work space. Peter’s room, of course, is decked out in nerd heaven. He’s got a giant TV and about a thousand gaming systems hooked up, a bed four times the size of his body, and a lavish bathroom all to himself. There are bookshelves covered in various kinds of literature, ranging from fiction to highly academic. A Lego model of the Empire State Building is on display, with plenty of boxes beneath it promising late nights. There’s a desk with a brand new computer, and…

“Is that the newest Starkphone?” Peter gapes, dropping his bag and running at the phone on the bed.

“Just finished it last week,” Tony leans against the doorway, watching Peter with a fond smile. “We used your idea for the ‘live’ nanotech to actively fix bugs as they occur. You have a prototype.”

Peter grins.

“I want you to test it, tell me all the kinks and what I need to fix before it goes public.”

May is almost surprised at how Tony treats Peter’s intelligence like its more important than the hundreds of people who work for his company.

May doesn’t even have time to react before Peter’s looking over her shoulder. His face lights up in the same way it normally does when he sees May, but the name he calls out is, “Miss. Potts!”

“Hey, kid.” Pepper Potts bypasses Tony to hug Peter. She smooths his hair from his forehead and kisses it like she’s done it a thousand times before. “How was your week? Lit test go okay?”

“Made a hundred.”

“Perfect. We’ll have to get some more reading done this weekend.” Pepper smiles earnestly at him before turning to May. She holds out a hand. “Hi. I’m Pepper. Peter talks about you all the time, its so nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” May says. She can admit that she’s a bit starstruck as she shakes the hand of one of the most powerful women in America. “I’m a big fan of anyone who can handle Peter and _Wuthering Heights_.”

Pepper chuckles. “It’s a privilege that you let him spend so much time with us. I’d suffer through _Moby Dick_ if I had to.”

“Oh, god.” May grimaces. “Yeah, you’re definitely handling college English. Give me a good chemistry book any day, I’ll have it finished before dinner. _Moby Dick_ , however….”

“Overrated, I agree.”

May actually laughs. “Please, let my college lit professor know that you’re one of the most successful women in the country and you do not care about _Moby Dick._ ”

“Give me their number, I’d love to have a chat.”

“What, you didn’t offer to do that for me!” Peter looks like he’s pretending to be mad, yet is secretly delighted, eyes jumping back and forth between May and Pepper.

“That’s because you’re a teenager,” Pepper says. She pats his cheek. “Anyways, honey, May and I are gonna go have some wine by the fireplace. You boys have fun in the lab.”

“Yes ma’am.” Peter kisses Pepper’s cheek, then hugs May. Tony kisses Pepper and then grab’s Peter by the shoulders, steering him from the room, despite the teenager beginning to ramble about his latest chemistry project.

“So?” Pepper raises her eyebrows at May. “Wine?”

“Please.”

Pepper surprises May by giving her mulled wine. They settled in front of the fireplace on a ridiculously comfy couch, curled beneath soft blankets. Pepper looks expectantly at May over the rim of her mug. “So. Superheroes.”

“Ugh.” May cringes. “How do you deal with it, Tony going out on missions? Protecting the world?”

“Sometimes I don’t,” Pepper answers. “There’s a point, though, where the fear can’t control me. I’ve watched him in battle, I’ve helped him…take someone down. I’ve been in the thick of it, and what I’ve learned is that Peter has a point. Tony has the capability to do incredible things, to help save the world. If I had the power, I think I would do it too.”

May purses her lips.

“Can you honestly tell me you wouldn’t? I refuse to believe that the woman who raised that incredible kid with a heart of gold doesn’t realize that he is doing what he’s doing because he needs to.”

“He’s a child.”

“He saved a little girl from a kidnapping last week. What does that mean to you?”

May looks away. “That’s not fair.”

“I know it’s not fair, trust me. Why does it have to be the love of my life, why does it have to be him? And I don’t know, honestly. But Peter can do things that policemen and firefighters can’t do, that the military can’t do. Not only is he capable, but he has the heart to do the right thing. He just wants to stop robberies and prevent kidnappings, maybe save the world every now and then. At the end of the day, he’s the one with the super powers. What he does with them should be his decision. That’s why we have something called limits.”

“The most important being that Tony is monitoring him at all times.”

“Agreed.” Pepper sits up, leaning forward. “I know that it’s hard. I’ve had about ten years to deal with it, and at some point you choose to not let the worry overwhelm you.”

“And how did you do it?”

“I almost didn’t. I’ve almost left plenty of times.”

“So what made you stay?”

“It might sound ridiculous, but I read articles about the things Tony did. There was plenty of bad and a lot of scary, but he was helping people, saving people. How selfish am I if I insist that he not do it? When he can do things nobody else can?”

May looks into the fire. “I’m very selfish. Ben was always the one who cared more about humanity than himself. He died trying to stop a mugger. Am I supposed to lose my kid after losing my husband?”

“Tony won’t let that happen.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because Peter is more important to Tony than anything else in the world. More important than me, more important the Avengers. Nothing matters more than him.”

“But you’ve known him for years, he’s the love of your life.”

“I’m sorry, are we supposed to know Peter as well as we do and not love him more than life?”

May lets out a dry laugh. “It’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“He’s just so good,” Pepper says. “It boils down to the fact that he’s just _so good,_ and we are…not. Killing people, the lives we lived before we grew up and got shit together, the terrible things I sometimes wish upon people, all of it. He’s always so good, so loving. I want to be like him when I grow up.”

“Me too,” May admits. She blinks away tears, sipping on her wine and letting the warmth go through her. “He’s been happier lately. I don’t think he would ever try to replace Ben, but Tony’s a good father-figure. He looks up to him, so much.”

“They did bond, didn’t they? I always expect the best from Tony, but I did not expect that. He’s teaching Tony a lot, making him better.”

“He makes everyone better.”

“He’s an amazing kid.”

 _Yeah_ , May thinks as he walks into the room, balancing to-go containers on his head much to Tony’s pretend annoyance. _He’s pretty amazing._

**)-(**

The rest of the weekend goes well. May actually does get to relax, enjoying a spa-like treatment alongside Pepper. With Tony keeping an eye on Peter, its basically the first time since she and Ben took him in that she isn’t preoccupied with worrying over him. By the time she and Peter are loading up the car, she feels a few pounds heavier from good food and weekend laziness, while Peter seems hesitant to leave.

“Sweetie, I left my purse in the kitchen,” May tells him. “Could you go grab it for me?”

“Yeah, of course.” Peter jogs off, barely blinking an eye.

“I have some ground rules for Peter’s future here,” she says the moment he’s in the building. Tony’s chin jerks in. “Don’t look at me like that, Stark. I enjoyed my weekend of relaxation but that cannot be the norm. He’s still a teenager, not a prince. He’s going to do dishes, clean his own room, and fold his own socks—

Pepper makes a face. “Laundry is the worst.”

“And he will do it because he needs to be normal in as many ways as possible.”

“But he isn’t normal, May, and having someone pick up his laundry for him doesn’t make him abnormal.”

“He needs to grow up a little self-sufficient.”

“He’s brilliant, he is self-sufficient.”

“May is Peter’s guardian,” Pepper cuts in sharply. She places a hand on Tony’s chest. “And she’s right. Peter needs to know that everywhere he is, he’s still Peter Parker. Even here. And Peter Parker folds his own socks and washes his own dishes.”

“Okay,” Tony huffs. He swivels his head to look at May. “We already prioritize homework. He will have chores. But he will enjoy being a super-genius in my lab and being a teenager. That’s what you want, right?”

May holds out her hand. “Can you agree to a balance?”

“I can. I’m reasonable.”

Pepper snorts at that, and May and Tony shake hands.

**)-(**

From there, it’s almost easy.

Tony and Pepper are at every Decathlon meet. There’s a group chat for the three of them, with and without Peter. There is a science fair coming up, and Tony has promised to help Peter with his project. Pepper helps write papers. They have family dinner every Tuesday in Queens, and Pepper and May have gotten lunch a few times. She’s gotten into some exclusive parties and met a few shocking celebrities. Peter is happy.

Things are good.

May is smiling to herself as she walks up the house. As much as she hates parent-teacher conferences, she’s glad to be off work early. She’ll take a long bath, clean the scent of the hospital off of her body, and put on a new pair of heels. It’s going to be a good evening.

Except—

“What the hell?” May snaps at Tony and Peter. There are pieces of metal and wires, and what seems to be an odd sort of robot, cluttering her living room floor. Tony and Peter sit in the middle of it, both with notebooks open and scribbling into them.

“May.” Peter squeaks. “You’re home early.”

“I always come home early on parent-teacher conference day. I gotta get in the right headspace for your judge-y prep school teachers, which Tony promised to help me deal with.”

Tony flinches as Peter turns wide eyes on him. “But you promised to help me with my robotics project!”

“I know, buddy, but I promised May too.”

“It’s due tomorrow!”

“And why the fuck are you just now working on this?” May asks. She throws her nursing bag on the ground and crosses her arms. “You’ve been to Stark Industries three afternoons this week, _what_ have you been doing?”

Both of them pale.

“Spider-Man projects, _are you two serious right now?_ ”

“We can get the project done,” Tony says with a shrug. “It’s fine. I’ll help Peter for a bit, we’ll go to the conference, and then we’ll come back and deal with it.”

“May’s always gone for at least three hours after all the traffic, I need you here.”

May whips out her phone, finding Pepper’s name. She dials, still glaring at the two on her floor. “You better be lucky there’s a third parent in this set-up.”

Pepper answers the phone after three rings. “Hey, May.”

“I need you to come to a parent-teacher conference.”

“Okay,” Pepper says after a pause. “Can I ask why?”

“Your fiancé has decided that Peter didn’t need to work on his robotics project, which is due tomorrow, until about five minutes ago. They’re going to be spending all night on my living room floor, so I need a conference date.”

“Not a problem.” Pepper’s voice is relaxed, and May wants to weep with relief. Before she can offer thanks, however, the other woman speaks up again. “I was going to go wedding dress shopping. The store I was looking at isn’t too far from Midtown. Want to come shopping with me, and we’ll just go from there? I’d love your opinion.”

“Oh,” May replies. That feels random, but welcome. “Well, sure. What time?”

“I can pick you up in thirty minutes?”

“I can do that.”

Sure enough, thirty minutes later, May is freshly showered and sitting in the back of Pepper’s car. “Woman, you have no idea how grateful I am. I hate these things.”

“Why?” Pepper asks. “Don’t they just sit around a tell you how amazing Peter is?”

“Of course,” May scoffs. “But Peter is also a scholarship kid. There’s a lot of doubt about his financial future, about his disagreements with another student—who is an ass by the way—and about my ability to take care of him as a working single mom.”

“Jesus,” Pepper says. “What year is it?”

“Honestly.”

“I just don’t like dealing with it on my own,” May says. “I didn’t ask Tony because he’s a man, I asked him because I needed a partner. But, Peter turned doe eyes on him. What was he supposed to do?”

Pepper pats May’s knee. “Thank God Peter is one of the good guys. Can you imagine him in a hostile takeover?”

“The world at his knees? I perish the thought.”

They laugh together, and the evening goes smoothly. Pepper finds a gorgeous dress while they share macarons and champagne, dinner is Italian and phenomenal, the parent-teacher conferences are entirely bearable, and May thinks she’s got a new best friend.

“You know, I don’t hang out with many women,” Pepper sighs. “All of my girlfriends were back in LA. Here its just Stark Industries.”

“I don’t think I’ve had much time for friends,” May realizes. She smiles at the woman next to her and holds out a hand. “Tony finding Peter has had a lot of unexpected benefits.”

Pepper takes the hand. “I agree. I’m glad we met, May.”

“I’m glad we met too—Mr. Hogan! Pull over right up here, we need ice cream.”

**)-(**

“I’m bored.”

Pepper looks up, surprised. “May! I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I know.” May kicks back in in front of Pepper’s desk. The view of New York is remarkable. “I asked your assistant what your schedule is like, and she said your last meeting just got cancelled. It’s Friday. Tony is taking Peter and his friends to D.C. for that robotics showcase, and we have a weekend.”

“I can’t just leave work,” Pepper laughs. “My meeting was cancelled, but there’s work to do.”

“Yeah, on a hot dog at Coney Island.”

“Coney Island, really?”

“Come on, Pep.”

The CEO leans back in her chair and crosses her arms. May grins, knowing she looks a little ridiculous in her ratty jeans, boots, and tank top while sitting in a billion-dollar office, but she’s out on a limb and guessing Pepper needs a break.

“I can’t just leave work,” Pepper repeats.

“Oh, but you can.”

Surprisingly, she does.

**)-(**

“Hello Miss. Potts! How are you entertaining me today?”

“Brunch and spa day?”

“Yes, lets.”

**)-(**

"Aunt May, where are you going?”

“To kidnap Pepper. I have a date and I need her help finding a dress.”

“Can I come?”

“Obviously.”

**)-(**

Being friends with Pepper makes May feel like she has a social life again. It’s fun to have someone to spend time with who is an adult. Pepper helps her process a bad day at work, makes her feel like she isn’t so crazy for her concern about Peter, and is just…there. More than anyone ever has been before. It’s like she’s found a part of herself she hasn’t had since losing Ben.

 _A partner_ , she thinks as she and Pepper sit at the compound, munching on popcorn and watching trashy CW television.

“You know, Potts,” May says aloud. “I think I’m a little bit in love with you.”

Pepper leans over to smack a kiss onto May’s cheek. “I feel the same, babe. Do you feel like getting married?”

“Goddammit, Parker!” Tony yells from across the room. “Not my fiancé!”

May flips Tony off and settles into Pepper’s side. “Fuck off, Stark.”

**)-(**

May is at work when her patient becomes dust. For about two minutes, nobody can do anything but stand around and watch because _what the hell is this, what do we do, how do we stop it?_ It’s a maddening time as the hospital scrambles to deal with the fact that half the doctors have disappeared, leaving some patients open on surgical tables and some panicked who start coding. People didn’t just leave, people are dying right now and there’s no longer enough to staff to service everyone. Whatever happened didn’t take half the patients and half the doctors. It took seventy-five percent of the doctors and about twenty percent of patients.

And so, May works.

She takes charge of her floor, barking orders and focusing on people living, not that seemingly half of them that have just disappeared. It takes an hour or so, but it starts to feel like they’re getting a handle on things. There’s less screaming, more working, and a lot of organization. Then, people start flooding the hospital with reports of driver-less cars crashing, a plane falling from the sky and barely landing on water, ridiculous things that should never happen, and May realizes.

It happened outside the hospital too.

Fer grips her gut, as Peter’s face flashes before her eyes, followed by Pepper, Tony, even Rhodey and Vision. She needs to know if they’re okay—

And then her arm is gripped by a teenager with part of a windshield in his lung, and she can’t do anything but work. Peter will never forgive her if someone dies while she worries.

So she works.

Works.

_Works._

May works until her body cannot physically offer anything else, until her hospital and ones nearby are stabilized, until she’s acted as a doctor for the last…

_Day and a half? Jesus Christ._

She dials Peter. Nothing.

She dials Tony. Nothing.

She dials Pepper.

“Oh my god, May.” The relief is clear, and Pepper sounds like she sobs. “Where have you been, I thought—

“I was in the middle of a shift and things went to hell,” May croaks. She’s gathering her stuff and leaving. “Where are you? Where are Tony and Peter?”

“I don’t know. They went off into space to fight the man who did this, and I can’t reach them.”

“Space?!”

“I know. Come to compound, we’ll wait together.”

Wait. It’s the worst feeling, as May and Pepper pace the compound. Rogue Avengers show up, explain what happened with this guy named Thanos. Bruce Banner is there, broken at not having helped Tony and apologizing to May for his incapability leading to Spider-Man being necessary. Rhodey is there as well, holding May’s hand like he needs it too.

“We need Tony,” Captain America says resolutely. “I-I can’t do this without Tony.”

“I agree,” Rhodey replies. “But we don’t exactly have a way into space. And Tony is the one that could build us a way. So how do we get there?”

“I don’t know.” Cap shakes his head. “Let’s turn in for the night. Get some rest, and we’ll figure it out in the morning.”

**)-(**

Of course, Tony comes back in the middle of the night. May has finally collapsed from exhaustion and has to be woken up by Pepper. She tells her that Tony is back, but her eyes are red and her expression crumbles. May shoots out of the bed and towards Tony, who shakes his head.

“He snuck onto the ship, May, I tried to keep him away.”

Her hands shake with fury.

“And then, after Thanos disappeared, he was still okay, until…”

“No,” May snaps. “No, not Peter. _Not Peter_. You’re lying.”

“No,” Tony shakes his head. People are watching them and they’re both crying. “I’m not, I know because I _held_ him, May, while he—

She hits Tony in the chest. “Why? Why him?”

“I don’t know,” Tony croaks. “But he’s gone.”  
  
“You bring him back,” she says, gripping Tony’s face that is still wet with tears. “You bring him back, Tony Stark, or I’ll…”

Tony’s eyes are steel. “I will. I will. I don’t care what it takes, May, I won’t lose him again. I will find a way to turn back time and Thanos will die and the kid will live. That’s all there is to it.”

May nods because she believes him. “Then get to work, Iron Man.”

**)-(**

Before they can do anything, Tony insists on going to Tennessee. They pick up a teenager named Harley who Tony sobs at seeing, and who he brings back with them so he “can make sure my other kid doesn’t disappear.”

“The other kid,” Harley asks once Tony’s asleep. “Is it that Peter guy Tony always talks about?”

“Yes,” Pepper answers. She pulls up her phone and shows Harley a picture.

The kid hums. “He’s cute."

"The cutest."

"Tony says we have to fix the world because of him.”

“No.” May wipes at her cheeks. “We have to fix the universe.”

**)-(**

It works.

It fucking _works_.

**)-(**

May, Pepper, and Tony refuse to let Peter leave their sight. So, May and Peter will spend the rest of the school year and the summer at the compound, until Tony can stop panicking every time Peter walks away. May understands because she feels the exact same way.

They all settle in. There’s an underlying current of worry in their interactions. Pepper has Happy monitoring the kid everywhere he goes, May has him text her updates when she’s at work, and Tony modifies the Spider-Man suit at least sixty times.

“It’s like you don’t trust me,” Peter snaps at the three of them. “I have zero time alone!”

Tony raises a finger. “No, you had six fucking months.”

“You don’t have to remind me!” Peter exclaims. “I can’t forget about it with the way you three—

“Peter.” Pepper hisses. “Do not talk to us that way. You need to go calm down in your room and we will talk when everyone can have their tempers under control.”

Peter opens his mouth to argue, but Pepper raises her voice. “I said your room! _Now_!”

He stomps away, leaving May and Tony looking at her in shock. May speaks first. “You never yell at Peter. You never _discipline_ Peter.”

“Yeah, well, things were getting a little hot in here, way too quickly,” Pepper says thickly. She puts a hand to her chest and takes a shuddering breath. “Shit. Does it always feel like this after he looks at you like you hit him?”

“Every time.” Tony pats her shoulder. “Also, I should probably apologize.”

“How so?”

“Tell him I’ll take him to Disney world for his birthday?”

“Jesus Christ, Stark—”

**)-(**

“Hey, May?”

“What’s up, Pep?”

“Be my maid of honor.”

“Obviously.”

“…”

“I’m not wearing taffeta.”

**)-(**

Tony and Pepper take Peter, May, and Rhodey on vacation for their honeymoon. They cruise around the Caribbean, eat too much, relax, and come back finally feeling settled. It allows the next few months to flow easier, as they loosen the reigns on Peter. School starts up again, and May and Peter move back to the city.

Life goes back to an almost normal...and then Stark takes them to Disney World.

As their little family (plus Ned and MJ) get on a plane for Disney World, May gets a phone call from her lawyer.

“We need to redo paperwork,” he says. “You put me off for months after Ben died, and I gave you space after Peter was…gone, but now you need to redo paperwork. If anything has been proven, the world is unpredictable.”

“I agree,” May says. “So what paperwork needs to be done?”

“Your will, May. Specifically, what happens to Peter.”

It’s not a difficult decision, May realizes as she looks up and sees Pepper pushing chex-mix into Peter’s hand so he doesn’t forget to keep his calorie count high. Tony is calling for Happy to load them up, and Peter’s friends are laughing. This is their family, this is _Peter’s_ family.

“Send the necessary documents to Pepper Potts’ lawyer,” May says softly. “But tell them not alert her for a few days. I want to tell her.”

“Of course. Have a good trip, Mrs. Parker.”

May climbs on a plane, something odd settling over her.

 _Peter will be safe_.

“May, come sit!”

_Peter will be loved._

“You have to tell Tony that I’m right, as always.”

_Peter will want for nothing._

“Family vacation starts…now!”

_Peter will be happy._

And she feels peace.  


**Author's Note:**

> i'm maywildflowers on tumblr. Hit me up for a trash can of my faves.


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